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The Chicago police department is hosting a bike registration event on Saturday June 11th from 11:00am to 1:o0pm at Smith Park , 2526 W. Grand Avenue. Helmets and locks will be given away to adults who bring their bicycles and children who bring their bikes will be given helmets, while supplies last.

The police store and later auction off hundreds of stolen bikes each year. Get your bike registered to increase your chances of getting your bike returned to you should it ever get stolen.

For more information on biking in Chicago, or to register your bike online visit the Chicago police information portal

“The Near West Side could be at the center of the newest plan to speed up transit in Chicago, with a potential speedy new bus line. …. If the project goes through in Chicago, it could potentially add the first major north-to-south rapid transit line in the city that doesn’t go through the Loop. The CTA said the study will look at how feasible a rapid-transit bus system would be in the western corridor, looking at details spanning like parking, traffic patterns and the impact of adding a dedicated bus lane….” ..read more in this recent article in The Chicago Journal. We’re not sure why the CTA can’t simply reinstate the X49 ( Express bus service on Western Avenue) which could be done without any streetscaping, though.

Infrastructure & Cycling Issues – How can we work together with other organizations like WPB and Active Trans to better serve our neighborhood

Both WBP and the UVNA are in the 1st and 32nd wards – we share aldermen and the funding that the aldermen can provide or promote

Eleanor (WPB)

WPB has a master plan and they work to promote items spelled out in the plan like on street bike parking that has been approved and had funds budgeted for, and should appear at Milwaukee & North Avenue this may.

WPB has their own program to co-sponsor additional bike rack installations in their service area. WPB purchases racks that are the same as those installed by the city and CDOT installs them

WPB also talks to businesses about sponsoring racks

What can we do here in Ukrainian Village?

Request bike rack installation online via the city’s website or by calling 311. Be sure to save the tracking # they give you so you can follow up on your requests

Work with our aldermen to follow-up on important bike rack installation requests

Discuss option of business-sponsored bike racks

Tony (Active Transportation Alliance)

Active Trans is an organization devoted promoting the multitude of transportationoptions in the Chicagoland area that enable all residents to easily and safely reach any destination.Their 20-year Vision outlines their plan. Active Trans envision the region with half as many crashes and where half of all trips are made by walking, biking and transit. They work with our communities as well as in Springfield and D.C. to build support around legislation that prioritizes and protects bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders.

1st Ward Ald. Moreno, 30th Ward Ald. Reboyras and 35th Ward Ald. Colon will meet with near northwest side neighbors on Tuesday April 20th frp 6-8pm at the Boiler Room (2210 N. California) for a debriefing on their March trip to the Velo-City Conference in Seville, Spain.

Bike to Work Week/Commuter Challenge Ukrainian Village “Pit Stop”

During Chicago’s Bike to Work week (June 11-17) organizations can sponsor commuter stations or “Pit Stops” to promote their group, serve up coffee or cliff bars, and give away fun freebie items to cyclists who are commuting to work.

We would like to host a Pit Stop during bike week, either UVNA or UVNA + WPB

At the meeting we came up with a possibility of 3 locations that we will need to follow up on:

Damen/Division (NW corner near North Community Bank) This would be co-sponsored with WPB

Damen/Augusta (NW corner ) will check with St. Stephen’s Church, believe they own that land

Augusta/Oakley (SW corner) St Helen’s School has said they will allow us to us some of their space

Tony will put us in contact with the person at Active Trans who helps to organize the Pit Stops, and they will provide bike maps, water bottles, etc

We’ll probably do a morning rush-hour session (6:30am-9:00am) Can’t be on that Wed as that is WPB’s day in the Polish Triangle

Active Trans Social

After the Bike to Work Week event we would like to host an Active Trans Social

We might want to co-host with WPB and perhaps EVA (East Village Association) also

Ukrainian Village Bike Committee

We’re going to pull together our own UVNA bike group

If you are interested in learning more about these upcoming events and/or helping to plan them, etc., please send an email to Samantha Arnold (secretary@uvna.org). We’ll start by focusing on the Bike to Work Week “Pit Stop” in June.

Bike Theft in Ukrainian Village

It’s spring and that means more bikes and more bike thefts

Be sure to register your bike with one or more of the following:

The Chicago City Bike registry (www.chicagopolice.org)

The national bike registry (www.nationalbikeregistry.com)

Bike Revolution – they have a link on the stolen bike registry (http://chicago.stolenbike.org/register-with-bikerevolution)

Be sure that you keep a record of your bike’s serial #

Secure your bike with a heavy-duty U-lock or chain lock – even two locks

A cable lock alone will not protect your bike

Be sure that you lock your bike to a secure structure, not a wooden porch post or a street sign that can easily be lifted out of the ground

If your bike is stolen you should immediately do the following

File a police report

file a report on the Chicago stolen bike registry (http://chicago.stolenbike.org)

Create a discussion/announcement on thechainlink.org

Let the UVNA know and we will post an alert on our site, Facebook page and twitter feed (email info@uvna.org)

Let your friends, everyblock.com and other bike bloggers know to get the word out

Check craigslist for postings that could be your bike

Check the Maxwell Street Market or the Southside swamporama for your bike – lots of stolen bikes in Chicago are sold there. Do not confront anyone but immediately notify the nearest police officer if you spot your bike.

We will create a bike page on the UVNA site for bike info, links, and any bike thefts

Next Meeting

The next UVNA meeting will be a General meeting on Thursday May 19th, at 6:3opm